COP1613 December

The Cancun Agreements

Sergio Abranches

The Cancun Agreements were a continuation of the Copenhagen Accord, and an additional important step forward. COP16 meant more progress in the right direction. But we are still far from a new binding agreement on climate change. More »

COP1610 December

BASIC countries positively impressed by the document put together by the Secretariat of COP16

Sergio Abranches

The BASIC countries (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) have just met to evaluate the draft document that will serve as a basis for the Cancun resolution, and were pleased with what they’ve read. More »

COP1609 December

Almost stalled in the right direction

Sergio Abranches

Climate talks in Cancun were almost stopping, although in the right direction until Thursday evening. In the corridors, negotiators walking hastily from one room to another were saying they were close to remove some of the major stumbling blocks keeping the talks from advancing faster. More »

COP1608 December

World climate deal pending on unsaid words

Sergio Abranches

Every delegate is saying the same words here in Cancun. All press briefings and all plenary statements include the same set of keywords to login into the general conversation: balanced package, compromise, transparency. But the deal is depending on the words that have not been said. Unsaid words have become the core password to an agreement. More »

COP1606 December

A day of frantic drafting in Cancun

Sergio Abanches

COP16 closes today its technical segment with no concrete result. Even the draft document sketching the lines of a possible new global climate deal is a “non-paper”, a non-negotiating document. More »

COP1604 December

Waste management can help to close the Copenhagen Accord’s emissions gap

Sérgio Abranches

UNEP has just issued a report that collects evidence showing the role adequate waste management could have in saving greenhouse gases emissions. More »